These muffins with pears are soft, chocolatey, and gently spiced with candied ginger. Pears are the main ingredient here (juicy, sweet, and baked right into the crumb) while ginger stays subtle and optional.
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Gingery, chocolatey muffins with gooey, melty pieces of pears - how does that sound?
I know. Candied ginger isn't everyone's cup of tea. Okay, it's usually not mine either.
Why Ginger Works in These Pear Muffins
To me, candied ginger feels ... intense. Fiery. Even when coated in sugar or chocolate.
And yet, some acquaintances are convinced I love it. So they keep gifting it to me ... and I needed a delicious way of repurposing it.
Enter: these muffins with pears.
Chopped small and baked into a cocoa-rich batter, the ginger loses its sharp edge and becomes warm and gentle. Plus, pears and candied ginger turn out to be best friends.
You can leave out the ginger in the recipe below to get lovely chocolate pear muffins.
So, yes. I do love candied ginger. Just baked into (choc pear) muffins.
Note on Ingredients
You only need simple pantry ingredients for these muffins with pears (plus the candied ginger). This recipe is designed so each ingredient pulls its weight. The muffins will be soft, chocolatey, and gently spiced without anything overpowering.
Here's why this ginger muffin recipe works:
- Pears add moisture and little juicy pockets throughout the muffins.
- Bananas replace eggs and keep the crumb tender.
- Chocolate softens the sharpness of candied ginger.
- Ginger becomes subtle and warm; it adds just enough zing to make these choc pear muffins extra special.
🍽 Recipe
Chocolate Pear Muffins with Ginger (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 60 g candied ginger coated in dark chocolate* alternatively 30 g dark chocolate (1.1 oz) and 30 g candied ginger (1.1 oz)
- 200 g all-purpose wheat or spelt flour
- 50 g cocoa
- 2 heaped teaspoons baking powder
- 150 g sugar
- 2 medium ripe bananas
- 2 ripe pears
- 250 ml vegetable milk e.g. oat milk, or water
- 70 ml neutral oil e.g. rapeseed oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175° C (350° F) top and bottom heat.
- Finely chop the ginger (also the dark chocolate, if you use chocolate and candied ginger separately).
- Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, cocoa, baking powder, sugar).
- Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork until you have turned them into a paste.
- Wash the pears, quarter them, remove the cores, and dice the pear quarters.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the milk, the oil, and the mashed bananas.
- Fold ginger and pear pieces into the batter and mix well.
- Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin wrappers and divide the batter evenly between the 12 wrappers.
- Bake the muffins for 20 minutes on the middle rack.
- Leave to cool before indulging.
Notes
- You can find candied ginger also under "crystallized ginger".
- I've tested these muffins with and without candied ginger. If you're ginger-shy, use less or leave it out completely, the muffins will still be delicious.
Other Yummy Cake & Muffin Recipes
If fruity desserts are up your alley, you might also enjoy these recipes:
- Raspberry Muffins With Hazelnuts
- Spice Rhubarb Cake With Polenta
- Romanian Pear & Walnut Cake
- Mandarin Orange Cake With Streusel
- Apple & Quinces Crumble
Enjoy,
Ramona
PS: If you try it, tell me in the comments how it turned out. I'm always curious.
♥
Magda says
Mhhhmm I love love love ginger and your muffins really sound delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Have a great easter weekend
Magda from Magda mag das
https://www.magdamagdas.com
Ramona says
Hi Magda,
Thanks for the lovely wishes, and so happy you like the recipe. Have a wonderful Easter holiday too!